Latest market data

Stock search

It’s been a transformational year for Jason Lucash. He and Mike
Syzmcak, co-founders of OrigAudio, a four-year-old Costa
Mesa-Calif.-based products maker, discovered the challenges of
selling through major retailers. The two decided to steer their
company away from retail sales and focus more on
business-to-business. Today, about 75 percent of OrigAudio’s
revenue comes from companies (including Google and Los Angeles
Lakers) that buy customized gifts for their employees,
customers or fans.

The shift meant turning down business from Bed, Bath and Beyond
and will likely mean a $1 million decline in annual revenue—from
$3.75 million in 2012 to $2.75 million in 2013. “It was a tough
year,” for us, he says, “mostly because we’re making that big
shift of turning away big-box retailers.”

Entrepreneur recently spoke with Lucash, age 30, about his
professional and personal lessons and goals for the coming
months, how he plans to achieve them.

What lessons did he learn from the past year?
OrigAudio lost a lot of money after a large shipment of its
popular Rock-It portable vibration speakers meant to be sold for
the Christmas 2012 season didn’t arrive until early February due
to a port strike in Los Angeles. “We got stuck with 35,000
Rock-Its that we weren’t able to sell,” Lucash says, so they
ended up giving them away free to customers. That experience,
along with the other headaches of selling through retail
channels—such as long payment terms, returned inventory,
chargebacks and advertising fees—convinced him and Syzmcak they
should focus on B2B sales. “A big-box retailer like Bed Bath and
Beyond is going 90 to net 100 days to pay you,” he says. “Instead
of focusing all the time and effort on all that BS, we look at
the B2B sector, where you pitch it, you send it. They’re paying
us in five days.” OrigAudio uses a network of 7,000 distributors
across the U.S. that specialize in selling promotional products
to businesses. It’s now one of the fastest-growing promotional
products makers in the U.S. “We did so well because our stuff is
so different … and has the wow factor,” he says. “Custom
headphones are probably more interesting than getting a pen, a
mug or a T-shirt.”

#insert related here# How does he plan to take
OrigAudio to the next level in 2014? OrigAudio’s Rock-It
had become the company’s signature product. However, the company
plans to focus more on the mass customization of many types of
products—not just audio products—that employers or celebrities
might want to put a logo on, whether iPhone cases or T-Shirts.
“We’re trying to be the go-to spot for customized products,”
Lucash says. “Mass customization is the wave of the future. If
you’re not drinking that Kool-Aid yet, you should drink it.”
Beyond putting custom logos on products, as OrigAudio does, more
companies in the future will be making products for customers on
the spot using 3D printers. The advantage for those companies,
Lucash says, is they won’t have to keep warehouses full of
inventory. This past summer, the company launched its OrigAudio
Marketplace, an online store where fans can buy headphones
custom-designed by celebrities or athletes—including motocross
racer Jeremy Stenberg or hip-hop group Latryx. “We’re able to
print and ship them on demand,” he says.

What’s his biggest professional goal? In spring
2014, Lucash and his Syzmcak plan to launch a new company focus
on the customization of travel-related gear. While won’t disclose
too many details about the new venture, he says the company will
combine his personal love of travel with what he’s learned about
the power of product customization.

Any personal goals for the new year? Since being
featured as Entrepreneur’s Emerging Entrepreneur of 2012 and
gaining recognition as a successful businessman, Lucash has been
asked to give many speeches around the world. He’s learned a lot
about growing a successful company, and hopes to share his
experiences by teaching at a college. In 2014, he plans to pursue
a Master’s degree in entrepreneurship by taking online courses
through the University of Florida. Pursuing a degree will
hopefully provide the accreditation he needs to teach
college-level courses, plus the knowledge on entrepreneurship
principles and experiences beyond what he’s learned firsthand. He
adds: “I don’t want to go the MBA route. I’d rather be more
focused in what I really want to do, which is
entrepreneurship.”